Category Archives: Dublin

The news is spreading in Fingal that An Bord Pleanála (ABP) has granted permission for the construction of a 6 km Greenway from Malahide Castle across the Broadmeadow estuary to reach Newbridge House & Farm (permission granted May 19th). This news has a particular resonance with me and my colleagues in the Skerries Cycling Initiative (SCI). Why is it so important to us?! A brief history will answer that.

As far back as 2008 we made a submission to the Dublin Transportation Office as it was then, advocating the creation of a cycleway from Balbriggan to Bray, noting that the Sutton-to-Sandycove cycleway concept was receiving attention from local authorities but the needs of cyclists north of Sutton along the coast were not being addressed. Then, in August 2009, the rail viaduct at Malahide collapsed and was repaired by November. But before the restoration contractors had departed the scene, the government and Iarnród Éireann brilliantly offered them the job of sinking the piers of a pedestrian/cyclist bridge across the estuary into the seabed. Those piers are there now, all 13 of them, and this will make the task of creating the Broadmeadow Way much easier. The following year, the SCI participated in an effort to organise a meeting between Fingal County Council, Iarnród Éireann and local representatives to discuss the bridge and how to promote cycling on the Fingal coast but the circumstances were not right at the time.

In 2013 the SCI wrote to the DTO’s replacement (sort of), the National Transport Authority, about their draft cycle network plan for the Greater Dublin Area and we again tried to sell the idea of what we then called “The Fingal Coast & Castle Way”. We wrote:

“This cycleway was conceived as one which not only provided excellent tourist and recreational coastal cycling, but also included direct links to major heritage and tourist-attractive sites along the way, such as Ardgillan Castle, Skerries Mills, Rogerstown Estuary, Newbridge House & Farm, Broadmeadow Estuary and Malahide Castle. Such a cycleway offers Fingal a genuine tourist product. ”

You can see how the Broadmeadow Way in our minds was critical to our overall goal of getting the Fingal Coastal Way – as it is now called – constructed.

In 2014 a public consultation process for the Broadmeadow Way began. The SCI made a submission, advocating that the cycle/pedestrian track continue along the rail line as far as the Corballis Road, followed by a left turn up to the R126 and the gates of Newbridge House & Farm. Again we tried to put this cycleway into the context of the Fingal Coastal Way, a plan which “embraces both cycling and the local amenity and heritage connections which powerfully raise the tourism profile of the cycleway.”

For the Fingal Coastal Way to work, two estuary crossings are required: one across the Broadmeadow estuary, which happily has been granted permission, and the second across the Rogerstown estuary. This latter project must now take centre stage in the development of this marvellous Greenway.

A coalition of transport and environmental groups freed Dublin’s South William Street from motor traffic today, creating a space for people by preventing motor vehicles from accessing the area.

Dublin Cycling Campaign, Dublin Commuter Coalition and the Irish Pedestrian Network joined forces for today’s action, with additional support from Extinction Rebellion activists. The groups say that the time has come to fight back against the dominance of motor vehicles in our towns and cities.

It was terrific to see so many out on the Great Dublin Bike Ride last weekend organised by Cycling Ireland. We hope that the increased numbers taking part in Sportifs is translating – and continues to translate – into more and more people seeing cycling as the best way to commute in towns and cities. But not just commuting of course – we maintain there is HUGE potential for far more trips to the shops, GAA / soccer / rugby matches and training sessions, and night-time cultural events (for example) to take place on the bike! We are only just beginning to crank up our campaigning.

This week is an important week for the future of quality cycling in Dublin City! Dublin City Council are seeking submissions from you, and any member of the public, by next Thursday 9th March on their proposed design for the really important cycle route between Clontarf and Amiens St, close to Dublin City Centre. Dublin Cycling Campaign have major issues with the design as proposed, as we feel it does not adequately address the future needs for safe cycling in a city environment.

More than two-thirds (68 per cent) of motorists support the introduction of 30km/h speed limits in city centre areas.

The annual 123.ie car review survey of nearly 4,000 motorists, found large-scale support for plans to lower limits in residential areas. Plans for the phasing in of such limits throughout Dublin city and suburbs were approved by the city council in December, despite opposition from AA Ireland.

The 30km/h limit will apply on almost all roads and streets as far as the council’s boundary with the four other Dublin local authorities, excluding “arterial” roads.

Cyclists have begun to outnumber general traffic in some areas of Dublin city and the trend is set to “massively” accelerate, according to Dublin City Council.

At a hearing of the council’s Central Area Committee this morning, Tuesday, Dublin City Council ‘s head of technical service Brendan O’Brien revealed that on Arran Quay along the bank of the River Liffey cyclists outnumbered cars.

This change had taken place in the period since 2013-2014 when the council first began to properly develop plans for the two-way segregated cycle lane down the quays.